Principal's Newsletter
Gospel of the Week
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
I have come not to give peace, but discord.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!
‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
This week the Gospel tell us Jesus lets those gathered know that following him will not be easy, particularly because the gospel will not always bring peace. Families were being torn apart when the gospel spread because it changed everything. The picture is fairly simple. Don't wait till you get to the judge. Settle your debt beforehand so that you will not be put in prison when you are brought before the judge. Jesus' message is for us to recognize that if we ignore God's call to repentance we will be dragged away into judgment.
Jesus clearly expresses a deep desire to see the fire kindled because he knew better than anyone how badly this world needs the fire of renewal that God's kingdom represents. And if that new kingdom could come in no other way than to cause the conflict Jesus foresees, then that was the way it would have to be.
Yesterday, we celebrated our famous Book Week parade and what a wonderful morning it was. It was amazing to see nearly every child in the school dressed up and of course, the incredible staff of St Patrick’s had spare costumes ready to go for any student who forgot!
It was great to see so many parents and grandparents join us for the occasion and to see some of the toddlers join in. Thank you to Donna Ward for organising such a fantastic day that began with the parade and then the activities to follow. Thanks again to all my staff for making the day such a great success. There are some photos and stories from yesterday included in this week’s newsletter and next week, there will be more!
The Avenue carpark has undergone a major reconstruction. The whole carpark is one way only and all angle parking, which means there is NO REVERSE PARKING.
Also, there will be a crossing from the carpark to the school that all families must use. There will also be a clear NO CROSSING zone as well which must be obeyed at all times. Please ensure that you continue to follow the rules in the carpark. We have had many near misses of late and the safety of your children is pinnacle to these changes happening. There will be staff out on duty ensuring all parents are doing the right thing.
Preparations for 2026
At St Patrick’s we continue to have school tours coming through for this year and 2027 which is great and next year, we welcome many new families to our community. This term, I will begin planning for 2026. It is during this term that I ask parents to put in writing any issues they would like to raise with me in terms of the new academic year. I wish to make this very clear that requests made by parents for particular staff etc will NOT be guaranteed. I would like to emphasize that the staff of St Patrick’s do an amazing job and are valuable entities in your child’s education and I will not entertain any idea of ‘teacher shopping’. As professionals, we base the decisions on your child’s placement very carefully and there is serious consideration put into this each year.
This communication does need to be sent to me by the end of Term 3. Any requests made later than this may not be considered. I appreciate your understanding in this matter.
Thank you and God Bless,
Meg